Sidebar on Geographical Determinism
Table of Contents 📖
| Topic ID | Topic Title | Timestamp |
|---|
"Never bet against America. It's 100% white."
Hello Team!
Jonathan introduces this video as a random sidebar about geography, inspired by the book "Prisoners of Geography" by Tim Marshall which he started reading on a plane to Moscow for stem cell treatment for his primary progressive multiple sclerosis in 2019. The book is about how geography dictates a country's outcomes in deterministic ways.
Return to top⤴️
Russia and Climate Change
Jonathan speculates that Russia may not care about climate change because global warming could thaw the tundra and provide Russia with vast amounts of arable farmland, potentially making it a major food exporter. However, he is unsure about the quality of the land underneath the tundra.
Return to top⤴️
National Identity and Criticism
Jonathan discusses how our identities are linked to our home nations, using Britain as an example. He argues that we often take credit for our country's successes without considering that we are accidents of history and geography. When someone criticises our country, we may react defensively because it feels like a personal attack on our identity. Jonathan suggests we should try to distance our identities from our countries to have a fairer understanding.
Return to top⤴️
The Advantages of US Geography
Jonathan shares a thread by Michael Girdley outlining the geographical advantages of the United States, including:
- The Mississippi River system - the largest navigable waterway in the world
- Prime farmland overlaying the Mississippi River system
- The Great Lakes - the largest freshwater lake system connected to the Mississippi and Atlantic
- Barrier islands creating a virtual coastal river from Texas to Rhode Island
- Size - the 4th largest country with quality land
- Energy reserves and production
- Top tier natural harbors and ports on two oceans
- A large coastline providing control over exclusive economic zones
- Favorable ocean currents for agriculture and climate
- Weak neighbors to the north (Canada) and south (Mexico)
- Protection from invasion by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans
- Location in the Northern Hemisphere which has more landmass enabling trade
- East-West orientation allowing easier spread of crops, animals and ideas
Geography and Political Systems
Jonathan compares how the UK and Norway handled their oil reserves differently, with Norway investing in a sovereign wealth fund. He wonders if having a decent geography enables more sound political systems, using the example of the US developing technology in the context of established democratic foundations compared to oil-rich autocracies. Jonathan speculates that Russia could be far more successful with a more fertile political ground to match its natural resources.
Return to top⤴️
Wrap up
Jonathan invites viewers to share how their country's geography constrains its success and development in terms of being landlocked, having coastline, rivers, mountains or deserts. He acknowledges that success can be measured in different ways. The video ends with Jonathan pondering if Russia could have been more successful with sound political foundations to leverage its immense natural resources, rather than moving from tsarism to communism to crony capitalism and kleptocracy.
Return to top⤴️